In recent years in the photographic processing of color photographic materials, with the shortening of the time of delivery of finished goods and the reduction of labor in laboratories, it is desired to shorten the processing time. To accomplish this, while generally the temperature or the replenishing amount is increased, other various techniques have also been proposed, such as the intensification of stirring or the addition of various accelerators.
Among others, for the purpose of making the color development rapid and/or of reducing the replenishing amount, it is known to use a method wherein a color photographic material containing a silver chloride emulsion, instead of the conventionally widely used silver bromide type emulsions or silver iodide emulsions, is processed. For example, in International Publication No. WO-87-04534, a method is described for rapidly processing a high-silver-chloride color photographic material with a color developer substantially free from sulfite ions and benzyl alcohol.
However, it has been found that when development processing is carried out by an automatic processor for papers according to the above method, streaked fogging occurs. This is assumed to occur as follow: when the photographic material comes in contact with a roller or the like in the developing tank of an automatic processor, the photographic material becomes scarred and is pressure-sensitized, resulting in streaked fogging due to the pressure sensitization, that is, so-called in-solution pressure-sensitized streaks (hereinafter referred to as pressure-sensitized streaks) occur.
Further, facts have been apparent that when the method is used for continuous processing, fluctuation of photographic quality, in particular fluctuation of the minimum density (Dmin) and the maximum density (Dmax), becomes conspicuous, and insufficient desilvering takes place such that the white background is greatly stained.
Thus, rapid development processing that uses a high-silver-chloride color photographic material is accompanied by such serious problems as pressure-sensitized streaks, fluctuation of the photographic quality, and the occurrence of insufficient desilvering, and therefore such processing could not be practically used.
Of the above problems, the fluctuation of photographic quality in continuous processing, in particular the fluctuation of photographic quality in a yellow image-forming layer, is a serious problem.
On the other hand, although, as a conventional yellow coupler, four-equivalent couplers or .alpha.-acylacetanilides, one of the hydrogen atoms of the active methylene group of which is substituted, for example, by an aryloxy group, a halogen atom, a sulfoxy group, or an acyloxy group, are known, as described in JP-A ("JP-A" means unexamined published Japanese patent application) No. 87650/1975 and British Patent Nos. 3,369,695, 3,408,194, 3,415,652, and 3,447,928, these couplers had such defects as insufficient coupling reactivity and conspicuous color fogging, that would result from their use.
As more active yellow couplers that overcome these defects, couplers are known that are described in JP-A No. 26133/1972 and JP-B ("JP-B" means examined Japanese patent publication) No. 44420/1981, wherein a nitrogen-atom-containing heterocyclic ring is substituted directly for one of the hydrogen atoms of the active methylene group, and although it is recognized that they are improved in comparison with prior couplers, the effect was insufficient.
Further, in a rapid process that uses a high-silver-chloride color photographic material, in order to reduce the fluctuation of photographic quality, in particular the fluctuation of minimum density (Dmin), involved in continuous processing, the use of organic antifoggants is known, as described in JP-A Nos. 95345/1983 and 23342/1984. However, it has been found that the use of the organic antifoggants prevents neither the occurrence of pressure-sensitized streaks, as mentioned above, nor the increase of Dmin involved in continuous processing, and it has also been found that the occurrence of insufficient desilvering involved in continuous processing further increases.
JP-A No. 70552/1986 describes a process for lowering the replenishing amount of a developer, wherein a high-silver-chloride color photographic material is used and a replenisher is added in such an amount that overflow to the developing bath will not take place during the development processing, while JP-A No. 106655/1988 describes a process for processing a high-silver-chloride color photographic material with a color developer containing a hydroxylamine compound and a chloride, in a certain concentration or over, to stabilize the processing. However, these methods cannot practically be used because of pressure-sensitized streaks occurring in a process using an automatic processor, the fluctuation of photographic quality in continuous processing, and the occurrence of insufficient desilvering.
Thus, since in the prior art the problem of pressure-sensitized streaks occurring in a process using an automatic processor has not been taken into consideration, and an attempt to solve the problem has not been made, it is desired to minimize pressure-sensitized streaks.
Further, a technique is strongly desired for solving the fluctuation of photographic quality in continuous processing, in particular the fluctuation of photographic quality of the yellow image, and the problem of pressure-sensitized streaks, without bringing about insufficient desilvering.